Bailroad-car



UITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN M. WHIPPLE, OF NORTH ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAILROAD-CAR BRAKE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 19,599, dated Mar'ch 9, 1858.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, STEPHEN M. WHIP- PLE, ofNorth Adams, in the county of Berkshire and State of Massachusetts, havemade certain new and useful Improvements in Machinery for the Transferof Power to the Brakes of Railway-Cars.

The nature of my invention consists in the use and application of allthe forces of a moving train to counteract its momentum and bring it torest,

I term my invention a train brake, and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the constructionand operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings,making a part of this specification, in which- Figure I is a perspectiveView of a truck, with my improvements applied, complete in all the partsupon a scale of of an inch to the foot. Observing this scale, I proceedto represent the several parts, and the function which each partperforms; Fig. II is a lever, for actuating the brake-bars of the truck,and from its relation to other parts, I term it a horizontal lever; Fig.III a quadrant lever, for actuating the horizontal levers; Fig. IV a tiefor uniting the short arms of these levers; Fig. V, a vertical, andcentral section of the sliding center, for actuating the quadrantlevers; in which are represented cross sect-ions of the tongues of saidlevers c c, and also of the frame (Z, cl, independent of these, may beseen a section of pulley 0, side plates Z, Z, with shoulders 2 t,ferrules i or 'i-bolts and nuts, all the parts constituting one piece;Fig. VI, a like section of one of the fulcrums, and its parts, uponwhich the sliding center and the quadrant levers obtain their bearings;Fig. VII a central, and longitudinal section of the frame, or supporterof the several parts in the truck, with cross sections of the slidingcenter 79, p, fulcrums s, s, or s, s, and their shoulders o, c, or o, oferrules i, or 2' (for inner shoulders,) bolts, nuts, &c.; Fig. VIII avertical, and central section of a fairleader, with pulleys is, k, forprotecting the machinery when the truck is under the brakes at diflerentangles, and also to serve as a fixed point of contact, in the event ofbreaking the operating connection; Fig. IX, a like section of anotherfairleader, with one pulley A" for a similar purpose; Fig. Xa

vertical and'central section of a cone, as

combined with the Windlass staff, for taking up the slack of the train;Fig. XI, a side view of the parts bolted together before an applicationis made to the truck, in which are represented the sliding center E,quadrant levers T, T, fulcrums D, D, frame M, with screw and nut g, forholding the whole fast in the truck frame; Fig. XII, the main operatingconnection, including eyes, links, and hoops, for continuing the samefrom car to car, by a corresponding hook and link 0, a, from theopposite truck, and also, the branch chain a, of the operating Windlass;Fig. XIII, the peculiar form given to the chain in passing through thepulleys 2', 0, a, Fig. I.

00nstructi0'n.As preliminary, locate the line of the operatingconnection as near to a line drawn through the center of the train, asthe construction of the cars around the draw-bars, and ring-bolts willallow. Having determined this line, the number of inches is the length.of the long arms of the horizontal levers, their fulcrums being in aline drawn through the center of the brakebars. The length of the frame,or supporter of the parts in the truck M, Fig. XI, is-

cletermined by the distance between the enclpiece and transom, to whichit is made fast by a nut and screw, at G, Fig. I.

The combination of all the parts as a whole, is adapted to the truck incommon use, and the operation, to thestretch of the train under thebrakes. WVith these preliminaries, and a due observance of the scaleadhered to in the drawings herewith annexed, it is sufficient to remark,that, for

bolts, I use a iron; and for ferrules, gaspipe, one inch in diameter,bore, except for the ferrules in the quadrant levers; these are made ofcast iron, with a shoulder, as seen at 2', Fig. VI. For connections inthe truck, I use i or iron, with screws and nuts thereon, for adjustingthe brakes to the wheels. and rod, chain, short, straight, link, iron,rod, inch, hooks iron, coupling hook, iron, flattened to give strengthto the back. Length of chain, 2% feet more than enough For operatingconnection, chain to pass from one fairleader to the other,

through the pulleys 2', 0, u, the balance rod,

including eyes, links and hooks; the whole connection extending from theend of one draw-bar to the end of the other. I For purposes ofadjustment, uniteithe connecting rod 6, Fig. .I, from truck totruclqunder the car, by hooks and links, or by swivel and screw. Thefairleaders an, and 3 Fig. I, are made of cast iron and elevated totheir position by blocks of wood, and are there secured by bolts andscrews, as seen in th drawings, Figs. VIII, and IX.

Applicatiom Having bolted the parts together, as seen at Fig. XI,proceed to take the following measurements, viz., from the line of theoperating connect-ion, measure downward upon both end-piece and transomof the truck 10-1; inches, and bore holes to admit the frame, insert thelonger end first, and then, plant the shoulder of the opposite endagainst the end piece of the truck. Set the nut G, firmly against thetransom timber; unite the quadrant levers T, T, with the horizontallevers B, B, and their fulcrums by jaws and connecting rods (Z, d, withthe brake-bars 6, Z), of the truck; connect the short arms of theselevers by the tie, Fig. IV; suspend the longer connection by a book 6;set the springs; adjust the brakes, (shod with iron, surface, 3 by 15inches) to the wheels; make fast the fairleaders as, 3 Fig. I, upon theend piece of the truck, and also, upon the transom, in the line of theopening connection. Secure the cone, Fig. X, to the windlass staff incommon use; unite the chain to the operating connection at 0, Fig. XII,by a coupling hook; properly suspend said connection from the body ofthe car; pass the chain as connected at a, Fig. XII, through thefairleader :0, Fig. I, over the fulcrum pulley 2', under the pulley 0,of the sliding center, over the other fulcrum pulley a, through theother fairleader y, link it to the connecting rod 0, and the machineryas applied to one truck, is ready for operation. Duplicate the same fromtruck to truck, until all the cars composing the train are thusequipped.

Connections from truck to truck, under the 0m":-Unite the connecting-rod0, at the center, as specified under construction. Suspend the rod byrings in staples driven into the cross timbers of the car-body.

Upon all the trucks, apply springs of a capacity that will allow theoperating chain to pass through the pulleys 2', 0, a, without actuatingthe brakes, when the train is started, after braking. To this end,springs of a double capacity must be placed upon all second class andbaggage cars, and tenders to engines also, if the machinery is appliedto them; in which case, the mechanism of one truck is used in onedirection, and that of the other, when the engine is reversed andcoupled to the other end of the train, the operating chain of one truckbeing attached to the windlass of the tender upon the firemans side, andthat of the other truck, to a windlass upon the opposite side of thetender; one or both being used in braking the tender when detached fromthe train; and also when coupled with it, in taking up the slack, inconjunction with the brakeman upon the rear end of the train, or, in theevent of incapacity of springs, to relieve the wheels of the brakes whenstarting from a station, the fireman can effect this object, by pullingthe operating connection forward, by the windlass in contact with saidconnection.

O 72crati0n.First, confined to one truck: Set up the windlass A, Fig. 1,which brings the hook of the connecting rod 0, against the fairleader 3there being no other yielding point, the sliding center E is forced upward, and being connected with the tongues of the quadrant levers T, T,and their vertical arms with the horizontal levers B, B; their shortarms being united by the tie, Fig. IV, and also, their fulcrums With thebrake bars 6, b, of the truck, by connections (Z, (Z, the brakes n, n,and n, n, are applied to the wheels f, f, and f, f, with a forcecorresponding to the power applied to the operating connection. Second,to one car, or two trucks: As preliminary to operation, take up theslack in the operating connection, upon the cone of the Windlass andthere hold the chain by the spring and ratchet; the part which actuatesthe brakes, being wound upon the windlass stafi above the cone. Set upeither of the windlasses, but whichever it is, the slack in theconnection should first be wound thereon; then, the operation mayproceed; the windlass opposite the one operated, or the nearestfair-leader upon the transom of the truck, becomes the fixed pointof-contact, and the operation of the brakes of both trucks willcorrespond with the operation of the brakes of one truck; but, with thisdifference, viz., there are two points of transfer, instead of one, andthe power applied to the operating connection diminishes in eflicacy, asit proceeds from the truck nearest to the windlass operated. And yet, asa train brake, when the inherent forces of the train come into action,all the wheels under the brakes, united with the continuous operatingconnection, are retarded with a uniform force: Third, to a train of fivecars :The operating connection being continuous from the rear windlassof the last car, to the tender of the engine, is here made fast to aneye-bolt in the end timber. Said connection must be so adjusted undereach car, as to allow the wheels to run free of brakes, and yet allow nounnecessary slack in said connection. The train is in motion :.-Thebrakeman is at the rear windlass of the last car; the train approaches astation; the engineer shuts off steam the cars run together; the trainis perhaps two feet shorter, than when the engine was under head ofsteam; the brakeman takes up the slack on the cone of his Windlass, andapplies the brakes efl'ectually to the last truck in the train, andpartially to all the trucks preceding. The last car reacts; theretarding force of which elongates the train, thereby, giving anincreased tension to the operating connection, which receives a stillgreater tension, by a counter force, the momentum of the train, whicheffectually brakes the forward end of the train. The engineer feelingthe eifect of these forces upon the speed of his train, gives steam tohis engine, and all the forces of the train combined, still furtherelongate the train at every yielding point, (the springs in thedraW-bars;) this accumulating force transferred to the brakes, gives anextreme tension to the operating connection, and hence, the greatestabrasion upon alLthe wheels under the brakesbut, no sliding wheels, thegreat desideratum, in braking railway carriages.

Shutting off steam is not indispensable to good braking. To illustrate,suppose a train of six cars is running at time speed. The brakeman setsup the rear windlass of the fifth car, which forces the rear end of thetrain together; the brakes being thoroughly applied to the truck nearestto the Windlass operated and partially to all the trucks preceding, thiscar reacts, and itself becomes brakeman to all the cars in advance ofit, by stretching the train at every drawbar. The engineer finding thespeed of his train diminishing gives more steam to his engine, While thebrakeman sets up the forward Windlass of the sixth car, the retardingforce of which, combined with the motive power, transferred to thebrakes, will counteract the momentum of the train and bring it to rest,in less time than it can be done, with the brakes in common use,operated by three brakemen, in the usual manner. But the most efiectualbraking is realized when two brakemen operate the rear and forwardwindlasses of the last two cars in the train, the engineer shutting off,and at the proper time giving steam, the fireman having assisted intaking up the slack of the train. Operation in backing the train: Thebrakeman takes up the slack; the engineer gives steam ahead, and thus,the engine becomes brakeman.

Mechanically, the novelty of my invention consists in a combination oftwo quadrant levers T, T, and two horizontal levers B, B, with eachother, and with the brakebars of the truck, and also, with the operatingconnection through the fulcrums D, D, and sliding center E, for thetransfer of any and all the forces of a moving train, from the operatingconnection to the brakes. These forces in the order of their use, are,first, external, and may be divided into manual, and mechanical, or theforce generated by mechanical means; and second, inherent, which dividesitself into three separate and distinct forces, viz., retarding force,the force of momentum, and the motive force, all of which forces theoperators of the train may transfer to all the brakes, in quicksuccession; and herein is my claim which I desire to secure by LettersPatent:

\Vhat I claim is- The combination of levers, pulleys and chains operatedand arranged substantially as described, by which a brakeman on the rearend of the last car of the train is enabled to brake the train.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature, thistwenty-seventh day of January, A. D. 1858.

STEPHEN M. WVHIPPLE.

Witnesses:

T Hos. H. JOHNSON, B. F. ROBINSON.

